Faculty Staff Awards

Faculty Staff Awards

Pamela Stauffer, administrative support coordinator in the College of Engineering, has been honored with the 2014 Award for Administrative Excellence. The award, established in 1970, is given to a faculty or staff member whose performance, methods and achievements exemplify the highest standards of administrative excellence.

Four University faculty members have received the 2014 Faculty Scholar Medals for Outstanding Achievement. They are Eric Feigelson, professor of astronomy and astrophysics and of statistics in the Eberly College of Science, the physical sciences medal; Eric Hayot, distinguished professor of comparative literature and Asian studies in the College of the Liberal Arts, the arts and humanities medal; Joan Richtsmeier, distinguished professor of anthropology in the College of the Liberal Arts, the life and health sciences medal, and Karl Zimmerer, professor of geography in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, the social and behavioral sciences medal. Established in 1980, the award recognizes scholarly or creative excellence represented by a single contribution or a series of contributions around a coherent theme. A committee of peers reviews nominations and selects candidates.

Timothy Radio, Division of Undergraduate Studies programs coordinator at Penn State Mont Alto, and Robert Rioux, Friedrich G. Helfferich Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering in the College of Engineering, have been selected to receive the 2014 Penn State Excellence in Advising Award.
The award, established by the former Undergraduate Student Government’s Academic Assembly and sponsored by each college, annually honors one full-time professional adviser and one full-time faculty member from any Penn State location who have at least two years of advising experience. Selection criteria are based on excellence in general advising, academic and career guidance, enthusiasm and assistance in decision making, and goal setting.

Mark Luellen, director of alumni relations and development in the College of the Liberal Arts, is the winner of the 2014 McKay Donkin Award. Established in 1969 in honor of the late McKay Donkin, who served as vice president and treasurer of the University from 1957 to 1968, the award is presented to a full-time member of the faculty or staff or to a retiree who has contributed most to the “economic, physical, mental or social welfare of the faculty” of the University. The contribution should be for duties or services above and beyond the recipient’s regularly assigned duties.

Six Penn State faculty members have received the 2014 George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching. They are Meredith Defelice, senior lecturer of biochemistry and molecular biology in the Eberly College of Science; Michael Evans, assistant chief academic officer and instructor of nursing at Penn State Worthington Scranton; Karen Kackley-Dutt, instructor of biology at Penn State Lehigh Valley; Dale Olver, instructor of dairy and animal science in the College of Agricultural Sciences; Ute Poerschke, associate professor of architecture in the College of Arts and Architecture, and Jessica Schocker, assistant professor of social studies education and women’s studies at Penn State Berks. The award, named after Penn State’s seventh president, honors excellence in teaching at the undergraduate level.

Mark Brennan, professor of leadership and community development in the College of Agricultural Sciences, and Jane Reese, assistant coordinator of the Penn State Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, are recipients of the 2014 W. LaMarr Kopp International Achievement Award. Established in 1995, the award recognizes faculty and staff members who have contributed significantly to the advancement of the international mission of the University. It is named for the late deputy vice president for international programs.

David Atwill, graduate program director and associate professor of history and Asian Studies in the College of the Liberal Arts, is the 2014 recipient of the Graduate School Alumni Society Graduate Program Chair Leadership Award. The award honors faculty members for exemplary leadership that benefits graduate students and faculty in an existing graduate program at the University.

Each year, Penn State honors several members of its faculty and staff for the highest levels of academic excellence, outstanding leadership and meritorious service. The 2014 Faculty/Staff Award recipients — 33 outstanding University employees and one program — reach across campuses, colleges and administrative units and exemplify best practices and achievements among Penn Staters reflecting the University's mission of teaching, research and service.

Matthew McAllister, professor of media studies in the College of Communications, has received the 2014 Graduate Faculty Teaching Award. The award, established in 1992 by The Graduate School, is presented to faculty members in recognition of outstanding teaching performance and advising of graduate students.

LuAnn Demi, Occupational Therapy Assistant Program director at Penn State DuBois, is the recipient of the 2014 Undergraduate Program Leadership Award. The award recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated exemplary leadership benefiting a Penn State undergraduate degree program. Specifically, it recognizes those individuals who have major responsibilities for the delivery of undergraduate education within a unit and who are providing leadership that has transformed or revitalized the undergraduate program in some way.

Paul Clark, professor and director of the School of Labor and Employment Relations in the College of the Liberal Arts, has been awarded the 2014 President’s Award for Excellence in Academic Integration. The award is given to a full-time faculty member who has exhibited extraordinary achievement in the integration of teaching, research or creative accomplishment, and service.

Lynn Sebulsky, administrative support assistant in the Office of the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of the Liberal Arts, has been honored with the 2014 Support Staff Award. The award recognizes the overall high-quality performance of a full-time member of the support staff with at least five years of active service in fulfilling the mission of the University and of his or her college or administrative unit. It also recognizes dedicated focus to customer service, commitment to quality improvement, outstanding skills and abilities, teamwork and professionalism.

Lynette Kvasny, associate professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology; Laura Rotunno, associate professor of English at Penn State Altoona, and Jennifer Wood, associate professor of communication arts and sciences at Penn State New Kensington, have received the Alumni/Student Award for Excellence in Teaching and have been named 2014 Penn State Teaching Fellows. The Penn State Alumni Association, in conjunction with undergraduate and graduate governing bodies, established the award in 1988. It honors distinguished teaching and provides encouragement and incentive for excellence in teaching. Recipients are expected to share their talents and expertise with others throughout the University system during the year following the award presentation.

Mary Beahm, senior director for recruitment and compensation in the Office of Human Resources, has been named the 2014 Staff Excellence Award winner. Established in 1993, the award recognizes the consistently outstanding performance of a staff member who has demonstrated and practiced the philosophy of continuous quality improvement, team spirit, managerial excellence in the performance of assigned duties and leadership in establishing a quality service orientation, so as to benefit his or her unit and the University.

John Gamble Jr., distinguished professor of political science and international law at Penn State Behrend, and Martin Trethewey, Arthur L. Glenn Professor of Engineering Education in the College of Engineering, are recipients of the 2014 Milton S. Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching. The award recognizes excellence in teaching and student support among tenured faculty who have been employed full time for at least five years with undergraduate teaching as a major portion of their duties. Milton S. Eisenhower, brother of former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, served as president of Penn State from 1950 to 1956.